10 COLUMBIAN INSTITUTE FOE THE 



Stone carvings for the Capitol building were among the first 

 objects of art executed for a public structure in Washington, and 

 it is interesting to note the appointment of a federal art commission 

 in 1825, during the presidency of John Quincy Adams and at his 

 instance, to determine which of the models and designs submitted 

 for the tympanum of the central east entrance of the Capitol building 

 possessed the most merit. This commission consisted of William 

 Thornton and C. B. King, selected by the President, and Col. George 

 Bomford, U. S. Army, named by Mr. Bulfinch, architect of the 

 Capitol. That the competition was seriously judged is evidenced 

 by the fact that none of the models presented was deemed entitled 

 to the award, and another design was specially prepared following 

 a suggestion by the President. 



Only a single monument was extant at that time, a memorial 

 erected at the Navy Yard in 1808 to the " heroes that fell before 

 Tripoli in 1804," the cost of which was wholly defrayed by private 

 subscription among officers of the Navy. The four paintings by Col. 

 John Trumbull, commemorative of events in the American Revolu- 

 tion, authorized by Congress and installed in the rotunda in 1824, 

 were the first decorations of this kind produced for the Capitol. 

 They were renovated in 1828 in the room of the Columbian Institute, 

 where Vanderlyn also evidently executed his rotunda painting. 



FOUNDING AND OBJECTS. 



The Columbian Institute had its origin in the formation, on June 

 15, 1816, of an association termed the Metropolitan Societ}^, with the 

 following plan, signed by 89 residents of the city of Washington : 



A few of the citizens of Washington, impressed with the importance of 

 collecting and distributing the various vegetable productions of this and other 

 countries, have determined to form themselves into a society under the name 

 of the " Metropolitan Society," and to connect with it a cabinet of the minerals 

 of the United States and other parts of the world. 



To aid them in this important undertaking, they propose to solicit from the 

 several members of Congress who annually visit the Metropolis, and from those 

 citizens of our country who devote themselves to such subjects as the society 

 will embrace, specimens of grains, grasses, fruits, dye-stuffs, medicinal plants, 

 minerals, &c, in short every thing that will be beneficial to the public, whether 

 indigenous or cultivated, within their respective districts. 



Under these impressions, they will be gratified if you will promote the under- 

 taking by becoming a member; the expenses not to exceed five dollars per 

 annum. 



They have it in contemplation to apply to Congress for the appropriation of 

 about 200 acres of ground, called " the Mall," which was designed in the origi- 

 nal plan of the city for a public garden. In this place it is proposed to cultivate 

 the plants and seeds which may be presented to them; and as they multiply, to 

 distribute them throughout this extensive continent. They trust that the 

 beneficial objects which they wish to promote will plead their excuse for the 



